Japanese Verbs — An easy guide in expressing action words

In this lesson, we’ll learn about one of the foundations of all languages — Japanese verbs. Learning a new language means you definitely need to study verbs. Nouns are usually easy enough to learn, but Japanese verbs are often harder to master because of different verb conjugations and rules.

Japanese Verbs

One of the most important parts of communication is verbs. Of course, we use verbs every single day to express our actions. Mastering the basic verb forms and simple verb conjugations is one of the first steps you can take in your language-learning journey.

Below, we’ll discuss the different verb types and verb conjugation patterns of the Japanese language then, you can make example sentences by the end of this lesson!

Verbs in Japanese

The word “verbs” in Japanese is expressed as どうし (doushi). Knowing this word will come in handy when learning Japanese verbs.

Japanese Verb Conjugation

The conjugation of Japanese verbs differs from that of English verbs. Japanese verb conjugation consists solely of changing the last vowel of the dictionary form of the verb, as well as adding a suffix sometimes. The first verb conjugation beginners normally learn is the long masu-form.

The masu-form can be used in the present and future tense. It’s also the polite form or more formal way of speaking Japanese, and it is used when talking to your acquaintances, superiors, co-workers, and people you don’t know.

While there is a more casual short form, it’s best to start with the long form so you can easily understand how each verb conjugation pattern works.

Japanese Verbs Dictionary Form

The basic verb form of all Japanese verbs ends with “u.” This is also called dictionary form and is the informal, present affirmative form of the verb. It’s because that’s how you’ll look up a verb in a dictionary.

This form is used among close friends and family in informal situations. Japanese verbs always contain two parts: a verb stem and a suffix. When conjugating Japanese verbs, you’ll have to start with the verb stem, so be sure you’re able to identify the stems of Japanese verbs.

Note: In Japanese grammar, the term “verb stem,” also known as “masu-form/stem,” refers to the verb base and is used in a variety of phrases. When a verb is in its “masu-form,” the best approach to identify the verb stem is to delete the “masu.”

Basic Japanese Verbs 

In the table below, the dictionary form of a few basic Japanese verbs is on the left, and the masu-form is on the right.

Now that you know the basis of Japanese verbs, let’s separate them a bit further. Japanese verbs are split into three groups according to their plain form. Let’s go over the grammatical rules.

Japanese Verb Groups

There are three Japanese verb groups. They are grouped according to their ending letters.

Below are the three verb groups in the Japanese language.

• Group 1 – u-verbs – godan verbs
• Group 2 – ru-verbs – ichidan verbs
• Group 3 – irregular verbs

Each verb group has different conjugation patterns, so it is important to learn them.

In plain form, ichidan verbs are verbs ending with -いる (-iru) or -える (-eru). With a few exceptions, this means that if a verb does not end in -いる (-iru) or -える (-eru), it is a godan verb. There are only two irregular verbs. くる (kuru) and する (suru). We’ll talk more about them later.

When learning Japanese, conjugating verbs is significantly important, and memorizing the categories will be very helpful in improving fluency. You’ll notice how they differ. If we disregard the Japanese writing system, godan verbs have a consonant stem, but ichidan verbs have vowel stem ends. Now, let’s talk about the different groups.

Japanese U Verbs 

The first Japanese verb type is the u-verbs. The Japanese u-verbs are also known as Godan verbs. In written Japanese, you can see that each verb ends in the う-line on the hiragana chart when they’re in plain form, which is why they’re often referred to as u-verbs.

Remember the order of vowels in our previous lesson on Japanese vowels? They’re easy to remember because each vowel sound never changes! To refresh your memory, it’s あ、い、う、え、お. Godan means five steps in Japanese, so it took its name, “godan verb” from these five sounds.

For u-verbs, the stem sound determines the verb conjugation. Let’s take a look at the verb “kaku”.

The stem form of the verb kaku is kak, and the suffix is u. To conjugate, the verb, break the verb into its stem form and add “imasu” at the end. Now that you know how to conjugate u-verbs, let’s take a look at some common u-verbs and their masu-form conjugations.

To conjugate the negative form, remove “masu” and add “masen.” For past tense, change “masu” to “mashita.” And to conjugate to past negative form, change “masu” to “masen deshita.”

Tip: To give you a better idea, if you look at their masu-form, they all end with an i-sound if you omit the auxiliary verb “masu.” They usually end with い、ち、 り、 び、 み、 に、 き、or し. This is also one way to determine u-verbs or godan verbs. Looking at verb bases helps a lot in determining verb groups.

Example sentences:

Maria already went home.

マリアは既に家に帰りました。

マリアはすでにいえにかえりました。

Maria wa sudeni ie ni kaerimashita.

I want to drink coffee.

私はコーヒーを飲みたいです。

わたしはコーヒーをのみたいです。

watashi wa ko-hi- o nomitai desu.

Japanese Ru Verbs

The second verb type is the ru-verbs. The Japanese ru-verbs are also known as Ichidan verbs. These verbs are the easiest to conjugate. To conjugate “ru-verbs” into the masu-form, drop the final “ru” verb ending in their dictionary form and simply add “masu.”

To conjugate into the negative form, simple past forms, and past negative, it’s the same way as conjugating godan verbs or u-verbs.

Tip: If you look at their verb base or masu-form, they all end with an e-sound if you omit “masu.” These verbs usually end with え、て、れ、べ、ね、め、け、げ、or せ. This is also one way to determine ichidan or ru verbs.

Example sentences:

I forgot my wallet.

私の財布を忘れました。

わたしのさいふをわすれました。

watashi no saifu o wasuremashita.

Today, I will go out.

今日は出かけます。

きょうはでかけます。

kyou wa dekakemasu.

Japanese Irregular Verbs 

Finally, the third verb type is the irregular verb! There are always exceptions to every rule and Japanese verbs are no different. Luckily there are only two Japanese irregular verbs that you have to be careful of when conjugating; する (suru) and くる (kuru).

These two verbs don’t conjugate with any other verb, but their conjugation rules aren’t difficult. する (suru) is the most common verb you’ll come across, as it means “to do.” It’s often combined with many nouns to create a verb.

To conjugate する (suru), the “su” turns into “shi” and then add “masu” to the end. So it becomes します (shimasu). The past and negative form conjugations of する (suru) follow the same patterns as regular ru-verbs and u-verbs. Let’s look at the chart below.

The next irregular verb is くる (kuru), which means “to come” in English. When conjugating, the verb stem of くる (kuru) is き (ki). Thus when changing to past or present tense, change くる (kuru) to き (ki) and add ます (masu) to the end. Let’s take a look at the chart below.

Example sentences:

My friend will get married today.

私の友達は今日結婚します。

わたしのともだちはきょうけっこんします。

watashi no tomodachi wa kyou kekkon shimasu.

We will take a walk in the park.

私達は公園を散歩します。

わたしたちはこうえんをさんぽします。

watashitachi wa kouen o sanpo shimasu.

Japanese Verbs List

Here is a Japanese verb list that has verbs that you should know. Some of these verbs are essentially used every day, so it’s important to learn them.

Japanese Tenses

Japanese tenses are mainly made up of two tenses, unlike the English language. They’re the present tense and the past tense. Both tenses are expressed using verb conjugations.

This also means that in the Japanese language, there’s no conjugation for the future tense. If you want to express an action in the future, you can use the present tense conjugations used for the different types of verbs.

Japanese Present Tense

The Japanese present tense of verbs can be expressed depending on the type of verb. You’ll use います (imasu) for Godan verbs while ます (masu) for Ichidan verbs.

ません (masen), on the other hand, is used for both Godan and Ichidan verbs when negating the action in the present tense.

Japanese Past Tense

The Japanese past tense is expressed using ました (mashita). This can be used for both Godan and Ichidan verbs.

When negating a verb in the past tense, いませんでした (imasen deshita) is used for Godan verbs, whileませのでした (masen deshita) for Ichidan verbs.

Japanese Future Tense

Japanese verbs don’t have a specific form or conjugation for the future tense. Instead, the Japanese future tense can be expressed using the present tense.

Conclusion

In this article, we explained some of the most common Japanese verbs and explained the basic verb conjugations in the long masu-form. As you become more familiar with Japanese verb conjugation patterns, you’ll expand your Japanese vocabulary and have a better command of the language.

While these are the most common verbs, there are many verbs and many more conjugation forms out there to learn to express actions better. We haven’t talked about how to use a transitive verb. And the different forms of the verb — causative form, conditional form, imperative form, and potential form.

So be sure to check out our other articles to help you continue along your Japanese language journey.

がんばってください (Ganbatte kudasai)! ^^